Walking and Working: Rebel Desk Treadmill Update

Rebel Desk Treadmill Update

Many of you have asked for some updates after my Rebel Desk Treadmill review and wanted to know how many calories I’m actually burning. So… I’ve been wearing my heart rate monitor every day while working and keeping track. So, first of all, yes, I’m still loving it! The joy of being able to get a little exercise in while working is still strong. I don’t know what it is… Jeff Dwelle works my butt off at the gym! You’d think I’d get enough. But I find that once I begin an exercise routine, I get really antsy really quickly. So the treadmill helps.

Getting Used to Walking at Work

The first week of having my Rebel Desk treadmill, I stayed right at 1 mph. That was easy to walk and get work done. Then I ramped it up to 2 mph, and after getting used to that, I literally CAN’T walk at half a mile an hour. It’s harder to walk slower than faster. If you keep up with it, your fitness level increases, your stamina builds and you might just find that the old way of doing things…like sitting down at your desk… is no longer an option! And hey… that combined with a healthy eating style….you might even see some weight fall off.

Better Heart rates and More Calories Burned

My standing heart rate, when I’m literally just standing and working at my desk and not fiddling around, is about 67-70 beats per minute. Walking 2 mph increases my heart rate from 81-92 beats per minute. With my schedule, as crazy as it’s been lately with the new Geek House and lots and lots of meetings, I’ve only been able to manage about 2 hours total on the treadmill in a day. Which is way less than I expected it to be! But again, I’m running around a lot and not at my desk. With those 2 hours, I’m burning an extra 250 calories in a day and walking a little over 3.5 miles. Of course, I’m also going to the gym every day for the GeekFit program. Men, you’ll burn more calories with the same amount of time because men weigh more than women.

The one thing I will say is that you could use an online calculator for determining how many calories you burn with this thing. You input your weight and time spent walking and how fast you were going. But I will caution you. Only use it as a guideline – these calculators are clocking my calories at almost DOUBLE what I actually burn. So if you really want to be accurate, get a heart rate monitor.

I’m certainly not as cold during the day as I used to be! And that’s a godsend because I used to never be able to warm up and was always bundled up with three layers of jackets! If you run warm naturally, you will run a little warmer by walking throughout the day. Get a small desk fan or lower the AC and that’ll help.

Concentrating While Walking

Now, let’s talk about concentration. You CAN indeed concentrate on work while walking at the same time. After observing many, many people test it out, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’ll depend on your level of comfort with the treadmill in the first place. I’ve spent a LOT of time on treadmills in my lifetime. And I get bored on them, so I have been known to answer a few emails or do some work on my phone while on the machine. So it’s an easy transition. If you’re not as comfortable moving on these types of machines, you CAN still do it. It’ll take a little more adjustment period, but again, you start at half a mile an hour and work your way up.

Remember, all that matters is that you’re doing SOMETHING. You guys are my inspiration for continuing this forward motion with GeekFit! There are lots of you who are joining along and getting in shape. I love it! And I’m glad we can all inspire each other. That is, after all, what community is about right?

Gymwatch Gives You a Fuller Picture of Workouts

Since we’re talking about fitness related stuff today, why not go all out and make it a fitness show! You guys remember when I had Peter on the show to talk about Atlas Wearables? It was the first fitness tracker that promised to track individual exercises in addition to calories burned and steps taken. Now there’s another Indiegogo campaign with a similar product that’s really peaking my interest! It’s called the Gymwatch.

Their sensor measures strength and motion regardless of whether you’re doing cardio, free weights, using your body weight, or on a machine. If you’re doing bicep curls, it’ll know that you did a partial rep or a full rep. If you’re lifting too quickly and losing form, there’s a coach that’ll help you correct yourself and give you encouragement. It tracks the amount of strength you use to kick off an exercise. Your explosive strength. Your speed strength. It can help you determine how much weight you should put on the bar so you can maximize your gym time. Or so you don’t hurt yourself. It sounds awesome if you ask me! They only have 5 days left in their campaign and it’s $159.

Sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Administration

It takes just 3 seconds to buckle your seatbelt and save your life! You can never predict what might happen on the road, because other driver’s actions aren’t in your control! But buckling up IS. Cops will be out in force looking for those of you who aren’t buckled in, so take those 3 seconds and buckle up. Remember… Click it or ticket.